Land Use
Jul. 1, 2026
Treat data centers like urban freeways
Data centers, like mid-20th-century urban freeways, are being rapidly sited with insufficient local input and oversight. Stronger environmental review, compensation and preservation of local land-use authority are necessary to avoid repeating past governance mistakes.
Joseph F.C. DiMento
Professor of Law and of Urban Planning
University of California, Irvine School of Law
Phone: (949) 309-6472
Email: jdimento@law.uci.edu
Univ of Michigan Law School
Had America's leaders grasped the social toll of urban freeways as quickly as they seem to be recognizing the impact of data centers, the country might look very differently today. Our transportation systems might be less environmentally destructive and more socially equitable. Conversely, the worst outcomes of data center siting can still be avoided if leaders learn from the history of regulating urban freeways. It took decades to bring even modestly effective regu...
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